Lady Joanna Thornhill’s (Endowed) Primary School
Bridge St, Wye, Ashford, Kent TN25 5EA tel: 01233 812781 email: office@ladyj.kent.sch.uk
Dear Parents,
School reports – new format!
Welcome to your child’s end of year report. This is now our new format which appeared to be very
favourably received last term. I have repeated below the explanation which I sent out last term. I hope
that this helps you to make sense of the new levels.
Background to the changes
We have changed the format of these reports to reflect the raised expectations and content of the new
National Curriculum. Schools have been implementing this since September 2014 for Years 1, 3, 4 and
5. Year 2 and 6 continue, this year only, to follow the previous curriculum in English, Mathematics and
Science. This is to allow those children to sensibly and appropriately access the statutory assessments
(SATs) at the end of the Key Stage based upon the curriculum content previously taught. From Summer
2016 statutory assessments will be based upon the new curriculum content.
Another significant change to the new curriculum is the removal of the current system of levels (2b, 3b,
4b etc). The government’s intention is to provide schools and teachers with greater flexibility in the way
they plan and assess children’s learning.
The programmes of study within the new curriculum set out expectations for coverage and
understanding by the end of each year group. The curriculum must include an assessment system which
enables schools to check what pupils have learnt and to determine whether they are on track to meet
the end of year expectations for their year group. Schools have been given the freedom to develop
their own assessment systems. We have been very busy this year designing a system to meet our needs
which is in line with the DfE’s performance descriptors. As the assessment system links to the
programme of study and children’s understanding of it, we have put them on our website – here is the
link http://www.ladyj.kent.sch.uk/default.cfm?pid=7162&act=disp
Your child’s report explained…
Level of Attainment
This is an assessment of where the children are performing against the end of year expectation. As the
children move through the year their levels should reflect their progress with most children ‘meeting
the expected’ in the Summer term report.
In brief the attainment levels indicate:
Attainment
Level
1 - Working beyond the expected standard for year group
Definition
Working in a year group content above that of their own
2 - Mastering the expected standard for year group
Well embedded end of year expectations, working at a greater
depth of understanding
3 - Meeting the expected standard for year group
Working at the end of year expectation
4 - Working towards the expected standard for year group
Beginning to use the skills necessary to meet the end of year
expectation
5 - Working below the expected standard for year group
Working within a year groups content below that of their own

Not all children will progress through the curriculum in the same way.
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Effort
Hopefully this is self explanatory. This will indicate how your child approaches work at school and
whether they are putting in sufficient effort to make best progress.
Targets
These are the areas which your child is currently focussing on in class to enable them to reach the next
stage in their learning. We hope that in sharing them with you it will help you to help your child to make
even better progress. Some of these targets, depending on the year group, will be class targets as they
work towards the end of year expectations.
Additional Support
This will tell you if your child is receiving extra support in school. If they are part of an intervention
group this support may only be short term to enable them to overcome specific problems. If you are in
any doubt please refer to your class teacher or Mrs Watts, our SENCo.
Your child as a learner
This should provide you with an overview of how your child works, behaves and presents themselves at
school. This may be different from how they are in other contexts. We hope that it will be useful to you
and your child.
General Comment
Here the teachers will provide a brief personal comment about your child. It may vary from report to
report depending upon the teacher’s overview of how your child is presenting themselves in school at
that time.
Early Years
The Early Years report is different from those written for Key Stage 1 and 2. We have written it with the
Early Year’s curriculum in mind.
On the front of your child’s report you will see comments which give a personal reflection of what your
children are doing in school. This is in line with their ‘Unique Story’ which is also shared with you.
The back of the report highlights the areas for learning as set out in the Early Years Curriculum. These
are divided into the ‘Prime Areas’ and ‘Specific Areas’. There will be an indication as to whether your
child in ‘on track’ to meet the ‘end of year’ expectations for this area.
Next Steps
These are the areas of learning which your child will be focussing on in class to enable them to progress.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
This will help you to understand how your child presents as a ‘learner’ within the classroom. It is worth
remembering that with very young children these areas are still developing.
We do hope that you enjoy the new reports. We have worked very hard to design them. You may also
appreciate that the teachers have been working very hard to complete them!
You will have an opportunity to discuss their content at the Open Evening.
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